Q. What should I do if I’m at home and an ICE agent knocks on my door?
Under the Fourth Amendment, if ICE agents or any law enforcement officer — comes to your door and wants to enter your home, they either need:
- To present a warrant signed by a judge (not just an administrative warrant from their agency) OR
- Your consent to enter your home
Agents could also technically enter without permission if they report hearing an emergency happening inside the home.
If you don’t want the agent to come in, legal advocates say, you don’t have to open the door unless the agent shows you a judicial warrant. (Advocates suggest asking the agent to slide the warrant under the door or hold it up to a window where you can read it so you don’t have to step outside.)
“ICE will often trick you into giving consent by saying they are investigating a crime or need to ‘take a quick look around’ or ‘come in to talk,” warns the National Immigrant Law Center (NILC).
If a judge does not sign the warrant, NILC says you can tell the agent that you do not want to talk right now.
Q. What do I do if an officer approaches me on the street or public transportation and asks my immigration status?
Your rights are strongest in your home.
So, if you encounter ICE agents outside your home and you don’t have any documentation, you have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer any questions. You also have a right to a lawyer, although one may not be provided for you by the government.
The law requires noncitizens to carry their papers, such as a green card or Employment Authorization Document, with them — and if you have such papers, you should show them to the agent. You still, however, have the right to remain silent while you’re doing so.
Q. What is the difference between an administrative warrant and a judicial warrant?
ICE and CBP officers generally both need an administrative warrant (signed by an ICE or CBP supervisor) in order to arrest a person. However, they can make an arrest without a warrant if they see a person illegally entering the country or they have “reason to believe” a person is here illegally and likely to escape before they can get a warrant.
That said, even if an ICE agent proceeds with arresting you, you still have constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent so you don’t say something that could incriminate you. Immigration officers cannot detain you without “reasonable suspicion” of a crime, and they cannot search you or your belongings without “probable cause” — unless you give your consent.
Q. What if I’m at work and immigration officers approach me and my colleagues?
ICE tends to go to a workplace for three reasons:
- To perform a document audit to check if employees have work authorization
- To conduct a raid — meaning, in this case, going to a workplace without informing the employer beforehand
- To detain a specific person
ICE agents can freely enter public areas of a workplace, such as a dining area in a restaurant, a parking lot or a lobby or waiting area. But it does not give them the right to stop, question or arrest just anyone in those spaces.
Agents cannot enter a private area of the business without permission or a judicial warrant. Ask to see this warrant, and see if it is signed by a judge. A judicial warrant is not the same as an administrative warrant, which is signed by an ICE supervisor and generally assists the agent in making arrests.
If an immigration officer comes to your place of work, you do not have to answer questions or answer questions about other employees. But the National Immigration Law Center stresses not to run away — instead, they recommend that it’s “safer to continue working, ask if you are being detained, and calmly ask if you may leave.”
If you have the ability to record the agents and if they do have a warrant, make sure they are doing what the warrant is allowing them to do.
Q. What do I do if ICE has detained me?
You still have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer. However, you should not lie about your immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
Do not sign any documents without speaking to a lawyer first.
Note the officer who detained you by writing down their name and number.
You still have the right to receive calls when detained. The government will not provide you with a lawyer, so you or your family will need to secure one on your own.
Q. How can I find someone who’s been detained by ICE?
If the person is an adult, you can use ICE’s own Online Detainee Locator System to search for them.
According to the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, it might take a few days for a person to show up in this ICE database. If this person has still not shown up in the database after those few days, you can contact advocacy organizations like Freedom for Immigrants through their form online or call 209-757-3733.
If you are looking for a minor who has been detained, you can call ICE at 1-800-203-7001. You can also email the Office of Refugee Resettlement at [email protected].
